Aunt Wang behaved wretchedly, and her sisters-in-law were just as bad. They bullied Mrs. Lin alone, and by the time Lin Xiang rushed over, Mrs. Lin’s hair was in disarray, and even her clothes had been torn in two places.
Aunt Wang even tried to smack Mrs. Lin’s face, but if Lin Xiang hadn’t hurried over and blocked it with her back, Mrs. Lin’s face would surely have swelled up immediately from the slap.
Several team leaders quickly pulled them apart, but relying on their numbers, the Wang Family was relentless. Even if Lin Xiang complained to the team leader, they wouldn’t back down, shouting that if they didn’t see Wang Xing today, they were sure to turn the Lin Family’s place upside down.
Wang Xing and Yang Lihua ran over and happened to hear Aunt Wang say this. She tried to shake off Yang Lihua’s grip and pounce forward.
"Xingzi, you can’t be foolish right now! If you go over now, won’t all our efforts so far be wasted?"
"But Lin Xiang and Aunt Lin are being bullied so badly, and it’s all because of me. How can I just stand by and do nothing?"
Lin Xiang had been so good to her, giving her advice and even lending her money. She couldn’t just do nothing!
"The girl didn’t expose you, which means she doesn’t want you to go back to the Wang Family. If you run over now and get caught by them, they’ll surely think you’re in cahoots with the girl, giving them even more reason to claim the moral high ground!"
Wang Xing was so worried her eyes were brimming with tears, "Then what should I do? I can’t just do nothing, right?" ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦·𝘯𝘦𝘵
Yang Lihua was also at a loss. She only remembered that when Lin Xiang left earlier, she strictly instructed her to keep an eye on Wang Xing and not let her wander in front of the Wang Family, but that was all she had said!
The Wang Family continued shouting at the Lin Family, while Lin Xiang tearfully looked at the team leader, "Uncle, our house is just these three rooms. Bring people in to search. If you find Wang Xing, I’ll accept whatever the Wang Family says! But if you don’t find Wang Xing in our house today, then it’s the Wang Family who is wrong, and I absolutely won’t let it go!"
The team leader looked at Mrs. Lin, who seemed like a madwoman, then at the combative Wang Family sisters-in-law, and personally led people into the Lin Family to search.
Aunt Wang and the other sisters-in-law also took the opportunity to slip inside.
Lin Xiang saw this but didn’t stop them.
The three rooms of the Lin Family’s house were built when Mr. Lin was alive. They’re old and considered the worst in the village. The layout can be seen at a glance, and aside from the bed and the broken chairs and tables, there’s nothing else in the house, clearly showing there’s nowhere to hide a person.
Just as Aunt Wang was about to start rummaging through boxes and cabinets, Accountant Xu hurriedly stopped her.
"This cabinet is so small. Never mind a big girl like Xingzi; even a three-year-old child couldn’t hide in there. If you dare to rummage through the cabinets in front of us at the Lin Family, the nature of the situation could change. If something goes missing from the Lin Family, then you’ll really have no way to explain yourselves."
Before Aunt Wang could speak, the second sister-in-law from the Wang Family pursed her lips, "With Xingzi’s small frame, why can’t she be hidden? Who knows if she’s hiding in a cabinet? We have to open it to verify."
"Open it, open it, let them open it!" the team leader said with a stern face. "If you open the cabinet and still don’t find anyone, I wonder what other trouble you can stir up!"
Aunt Wang pulled open the cabinet door herself, and as expected, there was no one inside.
But what they did see were several rolls of fabric that were of exceptionally good quality in both material and pattern.
The second sister-in-law from the Wang Family immediately reached to feel them, "I must say, the fabric from the cotton spinning factory is excellent. The Lin Family must have had some good luck to get such fine fabric, and so many rolls at once!"
"Team leader, you’ve always taken care of Lin Xiang, even letting her ride to town for free on the ox cart. Lin Xiang never mentioned giving you some fabric, did she?"
The team leader glanced at her, "What business is that of yours?"
The intention to stir up trouble was so obvious. Even if Lin Xiang had given away fabric on the first day, or even if she hadn’t, it was none of their business!
The Wang Family sisters-in-law left without achieving anything, causing a large crowd to march off.
Lin Xiang handed her mother over to Aunt Wu for care and looked coldly at the Wang Family, "You came to my house causing trouble for no reason, hit my mom and my brother without justification, and now that it’s proven no one is in my house, you want to leave without even an apology?"
"When did our Li Hua Team become a place where the Wang Family has the final say!"
"Lin Xiang, don’t talk nonsense!" Aunt Wang immediately said, "If you hadn’t egged Wang Xing to run away, this wouldn’t have happened today! It’s all your fault. What ability do you have to talk nonsense to me?"
The second sister-in-law from the Wang Family chimed in, "Sure enough, a wild child with no father to teach her from a young age, daring to speak to elders ... Lin Xiang, what are you doing! How dare you hit me?"
Lin Xiang, with no patience for her, went forward and slapped her with all her might. The slap stung, and the second sister-in-law from the Wang Family held her face, yelling loudly.
Lin Xiang flexed her aching wrist and sneered, "You’ve said it right, my father never taught me, so I don’t know the rules. Besides, who are you to be my elder? Your face isn’t big enough, don’t come strutting in front of me!"
"Lin Xiang, I’ll fight you to the death!"
"Have you had enough!"
The team leader shouted twice, and with Aunt Wang pulling her back, the second sister-in-law from the Wang Family stopped causing a scene, but her eyes were filled with venom as she looked at Lin Xiang.
Lin Xiang wasn’t afraid at all, glaring back fiercely.
"This matter ends here today. Wang Family, you should hurry back. Stop causing trouble! It’s the middle of the night, and you’ve disturbed the entire village. If you don’t want to sleep, don’t disturb others."
"No, how come it just ends ?" Lin Xiang asked the team leader in confusion, "The Wang Family came to my house unjustifiably causing trouble, look at how they’ve beaten my mother, and without even an apology, it just ends ?"
"So we get beaten for nothing? Is it our fault?"
The team leader hadn’t expected Lin Xiang to be so unreasonable. The goodwill accumulated before because of her help with the phone line had now dissipated considerably.’
He intentionally put on a stern face, trying to scare Lin Xiang, and said unequivocally, "Today’s issue was a misunderstanding. If you hadn’t said those things to Lu Cunlian, Wang Xing wouldn’t have mistaken this for your place. You’re both at fault, so don’t pursue it further, let it disperse."
The team leader dispersed the onlookers, and seeing Lin Xiang still standing there, he said disapprovingly, "Go and rest early, no one is allowed to pursue this matter any longer!"
Lin Xiang wanted to argue, but Mrs. Lin gently tugged at her, "Girl, let it go."
"The team leader is right. Our family did make a mistake in this matter."
The team leader had a look of ’See, I wasn’t wrong’, waving for the Wang Family to leave.
As they left, the second sister-in-law from the Wang Family shot a vicious glare at Lin Xiang.