No, any person with a bit of sense would know she said those words to shame Aunt Lu during a quarrel, so how could anyone take them seriously? 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"I’m willing to recognize Aunt Lin as my mother. You’re only a few months older than me, so calling you sister isn’t a loss. From now on, I’ll move in with you guys."

"Who agreed to this?" Lin Xiang said with a puzzled face, "You’re not a pitiable orphan with no parents, what are you doing randomly claiming relatives? Besides, even if you lost your parents, you have other family, and at the very least, you could seek government assistance. What’s the point of coming to my house?"

"But I’m really out of options!" Xingzi sat down on the ground, hugging her knees and started crying, "My grandmother wants to marry me off to an old widower in the neighboring village in exchange for a dowry so that my older cousin can marry a wife. That old widower has already beaten three wives to death; if I marry him, there’s only death for me. I really can’t do this..."

Seeing Xingzi sobbing uncontrollably, Lin Xiang felt uncomfortable inside too.

To speak frankly, as a fellow woman, she sympathized with Xingzi’s predicament and wished to lend her a hand to pull her out of the abyss and give her a new life.

But she didn’t have the ability to do so.

If it were the future, she could give some money to help Xingzi escape from the Li Hua Team, and even if she could only find a job that barely sustained her, she could at least support herself.

But it’s the seventies, and without a letter of recommendation, Xingzi couldn’t go far.

But where’s a recommendation letter so easily obtained?

If Lin Xiang insisted on helping, she’d probably end up getting herself into trouble too.

"Your mom just doesn’t get it!" Mrs. Lin cursed, "You’re her only daughter, if you end up tortured to death by that old widower, who’s she going to rely on for support in her old age? Stop crying! I’ll take you to find your mom!"

Xingzi stubbornly stayed on the ground, unwilling to get up, shaking her head continuously, "Auntie, I don’t dare to go back. I’m afraid as soon as I get back, they’ll hold me down and not let me run. But I really don’t want to marry that old widower..."

Mrs. Lin instinctively looked at Lin Xiang, "Girl, do you have any good ideas?"

Lin Xiang didn’t want to get involved, but seeing Xingzi like this, she couldn’t just stand by, sighing, "I’ll go to the team office first."

However, Lin Xiang didn’t know whether the team leaders would be willing to help?

"Girl, uncle believes you’re well-intentioned, but frankly speaking, this is a family matter of the Wang Family, even if we’re the team leaders, it’s not easy for us to intervene."

Lin Xiang sat upright on the stool, "Captain, the state has now issued regulations banning arranged marriages, so the Wang Family forcing Wang Xing into this marriage in exchange for a dowry is illegal."

"Haven’t you always wanted our Li Hua Team to be rated as an advanced collective? But if this issue blows up, do you think our Li Hua Team can still be considered for an advanced collective?"

"But this..." The captain was troubled, "Our team has never dealt with such a matter before, how should we get involved?"

"Precisely because we haven’t dealt with it before, how many poor young girls have been forced to marry into deplorable families in our village, ruining their lives for nothing? Besides, everything starts from scratch; just because we haven’t handled it before doesn’t mean we can’t now. Let’s take Wang Xing as an example and set a precedent!"

The captain was persuaded by Lin Xiang.

Mostly, he was afraid that if the issue grew too big, it would affect the next year’s evaluations.

Among the few teams in the commune, Li Hua Team hadn’t been rated as an advanced collective, and this had always been a sore point for the captain.

"A few of us discussed it, and it’s not that we can’t handle it, but the question is how to manage it?"

Lin Xiang was also a bit worried.

If the team could step in, that would be best, but the problem is, if Wang Xing’s parents don’t understand, even if the team leaders want to help, there’s no way to start.

As for the ban on arranged marriages, that’s just a gimmick, unless Wang Xing can truly stir things up to the commune and the town government, only then could it be considered illegal, but doing so would essentially put the entire Li Hua Team on the spot, so how could the captain possibly issue her a letter of recommendation?

Wang Family.

Mrs. Lin enlisted a few aunties who weren’t bad people but had big mouths, to spread the word about Mrs. Wang Sr. wanting to sell Wang Xing to exchange for a dowry for her eldest grandson.

"There’s been bride exchange cases in our team before, but those involved their own daughters. When did they ever use a distant niece for it?"

"Doesn’t Wang’s main house have a daughter? She’s nineteen, even older than Xingzi by a year, and hasn’t found a match yet. Why sell Xingzi to the old widower?"

"I say it’s because Wang Si’er is useless himself! He has no sons, and in the future, he’ll solely rely on Xingzi, his only daughter, for support. He dares to marry her off to some old widower? If the daughter ends up getting beaten to death by that old widower, then he’ll truly end his line!"

A lot of people gathered at the Wang Family’s doorstep, especially those aunties, each loudly broadcasting the Wang Family’s gossip, making it impossible for the people inside the house to pretend not to hear.

Mrs. Wang Sr. wielded a broom and aimed it at Aunt Lu, "Look at the kind of daughter you’ve raised! Like a mantis, lazy and greedy for food, and looking like that, she’d be blessed to be married off. She has the nerve to be picky about a match!"

Poor Aunt Lu, who appeared invincible and imperious outside, was tormented out of shape by her mother-in-law when she returned home.

Even with her thick winter clothes, the stubborn old woman struck her with force, causing Aunt Lu to tremble in pain, forcing her to ask for help.

"Dear, say something!"

Wang Si’er sat silently on the side.

Aunt Wang snorted, "Is mother wrong? With your Xingzi’s looks, ordinary people wouldn’t even consider her. You don’t have a son to inherit, so better families won’t consider her even more. Don’t say I’m a cruel aunt, I’ve selected her carefully."

"Mr. Wang Sr. might be a bit old, but his family conditions are good. Xingzi would have a full stomach every meal, and every now and then, she could even eat meat. Besides, Mr. Wang Sr. already has several sons and doesn’t need more, so Xingzi wouldn’t even need to bear children. Isn’t that good?"

"They say childbearing is like a journey through hell’s gates for women, and without needing to bear children, she avoids that risk. Isn’t it wonderful?"

Aunt Wang’s loud voice reached Mrs. Lin, who was outside the fence, and she couldn’t hold back anymore, shouting from across the fence, "If it’s so good, why don’t you marry your Wang Tao over? You’re just bullying Wang Xing, knowing she has no parents to rely on!"

"And you, crying, crying, all you do is cry! What else can you do other than cry? Why not show the spirit you had when quarreling with me before? Seeing you like this, it drives me crazy!"