Time-Travel: The Tragic Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Character Makes a Comeback
CHAPTER 140: The Pretty Educated Youth in the 1970s (8)
Fifth Girl sobbed uncontrollably and kowtowed to Xia Shuang, shouting, “Thank you for helping Fifth Girl, big sister!”
Xia Shuang deliberately wiped away a few tears before stepping forward to help her up.
“Little sister, don’t be afraid. I’m the educated youth Liu Erbao claimed to have framed. If you hadn’t spoken up today, I wouldn’t have known they were pulling such dirty tricks behind everyone’s backs. Once the police arrive, I’ll tell them about the injustice I suffered too. Just because someone is the village chief doesn’t mean he can do whatever he wants! We absolutely cannot let a dangerous person like him keep hurting people!”
“Shut up! Someone, seize these two little sluts!”
The village chief’s face turned livid. He realized Xia Shuang might be involved in all this, and he was so furious he could barely contain himself.
Several middle-aged men under Liu Changgui stepped forward to grab the two women. Xia Shuang instinctively shielded Fifth Girl behind her.
“What are you trying to do? Are you planning to silence us to cover up your crimes? It’s broad daylight! Aren’t you afraid of retribution?”
The villagers had still been somewhat skeptical, but seeing the village chief bully two defenseless women right before their eyes seemed to confirm their accusations. They exchanged worried whispers among themselves.
“Don’t believe their nonsense! I, Liu Changgui, have always conducted myself with integrity. I would never do such things. Let me question them, and I’ll give everyone an explanation!”
Xia Shuang deliberately refrained from using force. Before long, the two women had their hands tied with ropes.
Xia Shuang struggled and rolled around on the ground, kicking and thrashing as she cried out, “Help! Someone, help us!”
Fifth Girl followed her lead, throwing herself onto the ground and rolling around wildly as she wailed, “Village Chief, you’ll die a horrible death! Even as a ghost, I won’t let you get away with this!”
By the time Jiang Jin arrived with the police, they were greeted by complete chaos.
Several burly men were dragging the two women around on the ground, while the village chief stood nearby, furiously shouting, “Stuff these two little sluts’ mouths!”
Seeing someone behaving so brazenly, the police immediately barked, “Let’s see who dares!”
Four or five police officers had arrived, each wearing a stern expression. Jiang Jin followed at the rear, but the moment he spotted Xia Shuang covered in dirt with her hair in disarray, he hurried forward to help her up.
“Are you okay?”
Xia Shuang shook her head, then ignored him and turned to the police, crying as she poured out her grievances as though her whole world had fallen apart.
Fifth Girl stopped her act of madness too and tearfully recounted how she had been sold off.
The accompanying officers frowned as they listened, taking out their notebooks to record the details.
When the village chief saw the uniformed police, he was so frightened that he stumbled back several steps. He opened his mouth, hoping to explain himself, but the lead officer shot him a glare.
“You were the loudest one just now. Save whatever you have to say for the police station!”
The police spent more than two hours questioning everyone at the scene.
The villagers cooperated and honestly shared everything they had seen and heard. At this point, they no longer cared whether they would offend the village chief. Having someone like him around was dangerous enough. The thought of someone being drugged into a dazed, unresponsive state was downright terrifying.
The officers remained composed as they listened to the other details. They had handled plenty of cases, including all sorts of underhanded schemes, but using drugs to make someone dazed and unresponsive was something they rarely encountered. They went to the neighboring village to investigate as well.
As it turned out, they really did find a packet of dusty gray powder at the Wang family’s house. They also discovered the more than forty yuan left from the fifty-yuan bride price they had received for selling their niece.
Although the entire Wang family insisted they knew nothing about it, the police still took them all back for questioning.
……
Xia Shuang was worried that such a minor incident wouldn’t be enough to get them punished properly.
So she and Fifth Girl split up to take action. Fifth Girl returned to the Hu’er Village to spread the word and appeal for justice, while Xia Shuang gathered the village aunties and tearfully told them what had happened.
Before long, the whole affair was causing an uproar in both villages. Seizing the opportunity, Xia Shuang drafted a petition and went around asking everyone to leave their thumbprints on it.
She also wrote a lengthy letter of denunciation, describing the plight of the educated youths sent to the countryside and the miserable lives of orphaned girls in the villages. Finally, she enclosed the petition bearing the thumbprints of kind-hearted villagers from both villages.
Jiang Jin made a copy of the letter. Carrying both letters, he borrowed a bicycle and set off for the county seat early the next morning. He delivered one letter to the county leadership office and mailed the other to a newspaper office.
He didn’t return until nightfall.
What he didn’t know was that the newspaper had already begun preparing the story for publication early the following morning.
In those days, things were relatively peaceful across the various regions, and newspaper offices rarely had anything sensational to report. Now that they had finally come across a story guaranteed to catch people’s attention, of course they would make the most of it.
As for the letter sent to the county leadership office, it was simply tossed aside. Apparently, the officials didn’t consider such petty squabbles in a couple of small villages worth their attention.
As the story continued to gain traction, public outrage grew, and more and more people began speaking out against the incident. Only after the news reached the county authorities did they finally assign someone to investigate and handle the matter.
The police investigation results also came in.
Village Chief Liu Changgui had indeed violated disciplinary rules and abused his authority to coerce women. However, both he and the Wang family refused to admit to human trafficking, and there was no evidence to prove it for the time being.
Whether Liu Changgui would lose his position was beyond the police’s jurisdiction, but he would be detained in accordance with the law.
As for the packet of powder, its contents turned out to be incense ash and ordinary dirt, mixed with fragments of burned yellow paper. Clearly, it had been used for feudal superstitious practices.
The Wang couple were not Fifth Girl’s biological parents, but rather her maternal uncle and aunt. However, there was no evidence proving that they had caused her mother’s death, so the matter remained unverified.
The Wang family was forbidden from continuing to use their status as Fifth Girl’s parents to coerce or threaten her. Since Fifth Girl was under eighteen, she could transfer her household registration at any time and register under the women’s federation’s shelter program, where she would also receive living assistance.
The Wang family was sentenced to fifteen days in detention for engaging in feudal superstitious practices. All the bride price money was confiscated, and after returning to the village, they would have to undergo rectification under the supervision of the village leadership.
Just as the police finished handling the case and were preparing to submit their report, representatives from the county Party committee arrived.
They overturned the entire outcome and reopened the investigation.
The incident had caused serious negative repercussions and even made it into the newspapers. Who knew how far the news might spread? The authorities had to give the public a proper explanation.
Even Xia Shuang and Fifth Girl were summoned to give their statements.
This time, when the county’s investigators visited the two villages, Xia Shuang and Fifth Girl’s efforts to spread the word and appeal for justice through their tearful accounts finally paid off. Compared to the police’s initial questioning, the villagers were now far more willing to speak up.
One after another, they condemned the Wang family and the village chief. Everyone seemed ready to testify, describing the incidents with such conviction that you would think they had witnessed everything themselves.
This was also thanks to Xia Shuang and Fifth Girl repeatedly recounting the details. By going over the same events again and again, they had etched the story into the villagers’ memories. Eventually, the details felt so vivid that people genuinely remembered them as though they had seen everything firsthand.
As more people joined in, some female villagers even came forward to report Liu Erbao for hooliganism…
……
In the end, Liu Changgui was removed from his position and sentenced to twenty years in prison for multiple offenses, including abusing his official authority and promoting feudal superstition.
Liu Erbao was sentenced to thirty years in prison for hooliganism.
The Wang family couldn’t escape punishment either. For aiding and abetting wrongdoing, attempting to engage in human trafficking, and participating in feudal superstitious practices, all those involved received prison sentences ranging from five to ten years.
Of course, the county officials also sought out Xia Shuang before leaving. They asked her to write another letter to the newspaper explaining the final outcome, subtly suggesting that she should focus on promoting positive social values.
Xia Shuang readily agreed. While still at the police station, she wrote a lengthy account in one sitting and handed it over for their review. She also asked them to take it back and forward it to the newspaper office.
……
With everything finally settled, the group left the police station. Xia Shuang stretched lazily, feeling as though half the burden had been lifted from her shoulders. The original owner’s revenge had finally been avenged.
Fifth Girl’s eyes were red and swollen from crying, but they were tears of joy. She had avenged her mother and finally received justice for all the suffering she had endured over the years.
From now on, she would never again be forced to stay with that family. The police had already helped her get in touch with the Women’s Federation, and she could go somewhere else to start a new life.
“Sister Xia Shuang, thank you. If it weren’t for you, I might have already…”
Fifth Girl couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence.
Feeling a pang of heartache, Xia Shuang pulled her into a comforting hug and gently reassured her, “We helped each other. Without you, I might not have been able to do any of this either. And after everything you’ve been through, you’ll become braver too. We both need to live well. As long as we’re alive, anything is still possible.”
Fifth Girl hugged her tightly and nodded.
“Mm.”
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