Chapter 6: Forced Marriage Ah, Forced Marriage

  The next day, Wang Lin did the same as before, washing his face, brushing his teeth and eating breakfast. Yesterday's heartbreak didn't have much impact on him. Wang Lin's favorite phrase was that as a man, whatever happens should be kept in mind, and if you can't help but say it out or show it, then you're still a child, not a man.

  Although a broken heart is painful, career is important. Yesterday's casual conversation with He Zhongxiang also gave Wang Lin some information, which may be unfavorable to himself, but in this situation, even if he goes up the knife mountain and down the fire sea, Wang Lin cannot afford to retreat in any way.

  Raging torrent retreats, in the flash of lightning and sparks, it can be said that Wang Lin is now right in the center of the vortex, a slight carelessness, and there may be a possibility of being crushed to pieces.

  Breakfast was fried dough sticks and soy milk, an unchanged routine for thousands of years, but Wang Lin loved to eat it. The soy milk was personally ground by his mother Li Huihua, and the fried dough sticks were also freshly fried by his mother early in the morning. It was unknown how much cleaner they tasted compared to those bought outside. On ordinary days, his parents had nothing to do, so after eating breakfast, they would take a walk in the park, chat with other old people, take a nap at home after lunch, and then go out to play bridge with the old folks. After dinner, they would watch TV or something, and then sleep.

  The days passed by, and there was also a sense of comfort. However, this was exactly what Wang Lin found most curious about - his parents were not very old, with his father, Wang Ping, just over 50 years old, and his mother, Li Huihua, in her early 40s, not yet 50. At such an age, they should still be working, but in the Wang family, neither of them went to work every day.

  For decades, since Wang Lin was in high school, his parents had not worked again. What surprised Wang Lin even more was that the family never lacked food and drink, and all expenses seemed to be reimbursed by someone, so he didn't have to worry about eating at all. Once, in order to keep this position, Wang Lin rummaged through all the family's property, and finally found only a few hundred thousand yuan in savings, and after Wang Lin took it away, the family still lacked nothing.

  This matter had always been very curious to Wang Lin, but he never dared to ask his father. When Wang Lin was young, he saw a long scar on his father's waist, which seemed to be left after an operation.

  The whole family had a harmonious breakfast, and Wang Lin habitually sat on the sofa to chat with his parents for a few minutes before going to work. Since Wang Lin went to college, he hasn't had many opportunities to talk to his parents. He's been busy at school and rarely comes back home. Now that he's finally working, it's in a public institution, and he's busy from dawn till dusk, never staying home all day. So now Wang Lin always tries to make the most of breakfast time to chat with his parents for a bit longer.

  "Kobayashi, you're not getting any younger, and your work is finally stabilizing. When are you planning to bring your girlfriend home for me and your father to meet?" As soon as he sat down, Wang Lin's mother Huang Huihua started nagging him.

  "Mom, I'm only 23 years old, not even 24 yet. You want to hold a grandchild, but do you have to be so anxious? Can't we wait a bit longer?" Wang Lin said with some embarrassment. He did have a girlfriend, but if his mother had asked him this question before yesterday, he might have been able to answer confidently. Now, however, it was different - his girlfriend had run off with someone else, and saying that out loud would be humiliating for Wang Lin. Besides, he didn't want his parents to worry about his emotional problems. He was a 23-year-old man, after all; couldn't he handle this much?

  "What's wrong with being 23? I was married to your father at 23 and pregnant with you by 24." Huang Huihua spoke with increasing enthusiasm, these years of plain life had made her feel a bit dull and bored, now that the child is grown up, parents are also starting to think about holding their grandchildren.

  "Mom, what era is it now? How can you compare with your era? Now the national policy supports late marriage and late childbearing. As a civil servant, how can I not support the national policy?" Wang Lin was momentarily stunned and could only use the national policy to persuade his mother.

  "The kid is grown up now and has his own thoughts, don't worry about it anymore, wife. When the time comes for him to take responsibility, Xiaolin will do so on his own. You getting anxious won't help." Wang Ping couldn't help but chime in, however, he was speaking to his own son.

  "Thanks Dad, you really understand me! No wonder we share the same blood!" Wang Lin hastily flattered his father after seeing him step in to help.

  "Hey, you little rascal, you're still a piece of flesh that fell off me, how can it seem like I'm not involved in this?" Mother Huang Huihua listened to the father and son boasting to each other on the side, for a moment she was so angry that she couldn't catch her breath. She had been busy taking care of the two of them for half her life, how could it seem like she wasn't involved now?

  "By the way, Xiao Lin, that girlfriend of yours, I don't think she's anything special!" Wang Ping said thoughtfully, glancing at Wang Lin with a hint of a smile on his lips.

  For a moment, Wang Lin found it difficult to bear being asked by his own father like that. Wang Lin also felt somewhat embarrassed and hastily came up with an excuse to leave home. If he continued sitting at home, sooner or later his father would find out something. From young to old, all these years, Wang Lin never thought there was anything he could hide from his father.

  After leaving home, Wang Lin glanced at the time on his watch, 7:20. Since it was still a bit early, he didn't rush to head to work. He strolled along leisurely, taking slow steps forward. Anyway, there was still enough time; even if he walked to work, as long as he picked up the pace slightly, he would still make it on time.

  Moreover, after what happened yesterday, Wang Lin also found that he really needed to exercise his body. He couldn't let himself become a fat official before the age of thirty, could he? He couldn't even walk or run properly.

  All the way, looking at the neat and clean streets, Wang Lin's heart had an unbearable sense of satisfaction, just like a leader inspecting the lower areas, seeing what made himself satisfied. The high-tech zone is not very big, but it's not small either, with over 5 million fixed population in the whole district, plus outsiders, there are over 10 million people. Although this district is far from the coastal areas, compared to inland areas, it's still pretty good.

  Moreover, with the support of national policies in recent times, the high-tech zone will inevitably become a shining pearl in the central region in the future. The cars on the street passed by one after another in an orderly manner, and the strong winds blew over, gradually bringing Wang Lin back to reality. Back home, he was a carefree child, but now, away from home, he had become a strong man. The humiliation brought by Zhang Ran yesterday, Wang Lin remembered it every moment.

  Now, Wang Lin has made all the preparations to face the difficulties. Today is the day when Zhang's Group comes to inspect the High-tech Zone. The leaders from the district and the city will all be present. Yesterday, Wang Lin also received a notice that today he would accompany the leaders as a staff member of the District Government Office to welcome Zhang's Group for business inspection.

  Although there may be some risks involved, this is also an opportunity for Wang Lin to rise to prominence. It depends on whether he can seize it or not. If he can gain recognition from a leader, promotion might not be difficult. However, since it's an opportunity, it will coexist with risk. Wang Lin isn't worried about having a bad outcome; entering the official circle is like entering a battlefield - either you win or lose. Currently, Wang Lin has limited power and no family background, just an ordinary civil servant. If he fails, so what? He can start again from scratch. But if he succeeds, Wang Lin might soar to great heights.

  With a heart that was both excited and nervous, Wang Lin finally arrived at the office on foot. Although it was not yet eight o'clock, the weather outside had already started to heat up, and the sun couldn't bear the loneliness and came out early. Along the way, Wang Lin's back also broke out in sweat. Fortunately, Wang Lin didn't have any unusual odors on him, otherwise he would definitely lose face today.

  Wang Lin arrived at the unit almost at eight o'clock. The unit starts work at 8:30 in the morning, and it's indeed a bit early to arrive at this time. Anyway, he had nothing better to do, so after walking into the office, Wang Lin took off his jacket and picked up the mop to clean the floor of the office. After finishing the work, he still had some time, so he quickly grabbed the materials about Zhangshi Group again. In any case, it won't be wrong to learn more about the unit's information.

  At around 8:20, the office staff slowly started to arrive at work. At 8:25, Director He Zhongxiang calmly walked into the office and immediately called Wang Lin into his own office. After entering the office, He Zhongxiang instructed Wang Lin to call the hotel to book a few rooms and a conference room, so that when the personnel from Zhangshi Group came for inspection at noon, they would have a place to stay.

  Making a phone call was a simple matter, and in just a few minutes, Wang Lin had everything settled. The Zhang Corporation would arrive at the High-Tech Zone at 10 o'clock, but it was only 9 o'clock now, so Wang Lin still had about an hour of free time. Anyway, he had already been assigned to the reception group, so even if he didn't do anything, no one would say anything. So Wang Lin continued to look through the Zhang Corporation's materials, and this corporation was quite interesting.

  High-level personnel, basically all are women, Chairman Zhang Chengmei, and the several capable ones below her are also women. Relying solely on these women, the Zhang Group has developed into a large group like today, even a fool can guess that there is something fishy going on. If there isn't strong backing support behind them, just these few women, even if given a hundred years, may not necessarily have achieved today's success.

  Nowadays, society is like this. With a background, everything goes smoothly; without a background, doing anything is more troublesome than others, and the key lies in whether it can be done or not. As for those who take bribes, Wang Lin didn't have much feeling about it when he was in school, but after entering the district government for just one year, he became very familiar with this situation. No wonder so many people want to work in government units even if they have to break their heads open. Sitting in the office without moving, someone will send money into your hands; such a good job is naturally what everyone wants to do.

  But Wang Lin, a newcomer, didn't get any good opportunities. The only thing he got was the welfare bonus issued by the company every half year, which was two or three thousand yuan. Of course, it's unknown how much of this was deducted by the leaders. Anyway, Wang Lin knew that another colleague had received seven or eight thousand yuan.

  At around 9:40, He Zhongxiang finally walked out of his office and called Wang Lin and another staff member to follow him downstairs. Wang Lin and the other staff member went to wait in the car first, while He Zhongxiang went to invite the district head to join them, as this was a major project that required the district head's full accompaniment.

  Around 10:10, the fleet from the city finally appeared in front of everyone, with police cars leading the way and police cars escorting at the end. Wang Lin had dreamed of this scene many times before, but he didn't know when it would be his turn.